A Bit Of [VeganMOFO] & Weekend Stuff

I thought I would get some acupuncture done this weekend to see if it would transform my nervous energy to bliss. It did not happen, got to the clinic and it was packed, I even had an appointment and it did not matter. I was rather angry seeing it was a 30+ minute drive. So I asked for a refund and headed over to the Delta Humane Society thrift store and bought a few things, hung out with kittens and people who love cats.

To bust me out of my funk more Matt decided we needed doughnuts at Family Donuts & Deli again. The selection was smaller this time around but there were still some great ones to choose from. We tried a blueberry jelly filled and it was tasty!

Of course cemetery exploring was a must. Though the air quality is bad and everything looks murky and like a yellow bruise outside I had to get out there. The mausoleums were open and the air conditioner was on so Matt hung out in one while I explored. Matt snapped the above picture of me when I went back to get him

We rounded out the day having dinner at El Papagayo. I had green enchiladas - one with fried tofu and the other with chili colorado - both tasty options. This leads me to VeganMOFO - I would totally take Mr. President to eat here. No way am I going to cook and fill myself with anxiety! I would get him stuffed with nachos from the salsa bar, get him a round of Tecate and tell him to try a fried tofu dish!

[VeganMOFO] Resturant Meal

Whenever we eat at El Papagayo I crave quesadillas, chips and rice the next day. One never can have to much Mexican food right?

[Vegan Mofo] Throwback Thursday - Mexican Food With A Twist: Migas

I grew up and live in taco truck city! Though taco trucks were not a common grab and go meal for our family food from one of the many taquerias on our side of town was. When I went veg in high school grabbing a veggie burrito with rice, whole beans and salsa was my go to. We even had DIY taco and burrito nights at home. My mom or dad would get a bunch of fillings in bowls and have a stack of tortillas ready to go for us to build our own.

In junior high I took home economics. Our teacher taught us to make one meal a week. One of the foods I remember cooking for the first time was a dish with chorizo. We had Italian sausage at home but never we never had chorizo. I cook with soyrizo now - I know plenty of vegans and nonvegans who dig on the stuff, not only is it not full of gross animal bits but it it heart healthy.

I wanted to create a meal for dinner that was comforting, had a throwback element and also something new so I turned to migas!

 

Migas is a toss together meal consisting of scrambled eggs, tortilla bits and what you have on hand. Since obtaining some black sea salt and finished The Fault in our Stars (Hazel made me want to cook a scramble outside of breakfast!) I wanted to create something with a tofu scramble as an element. 

I baked some corn tortillas cut into wedges with a bit of olive oil in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes, turning them in the middle. I seasoned with pink sea salt when I took them out, pretty basic. My tofu scramble was a block of super firm, crumbled and cooked with olive oil, black sea salt, turmeric, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper and pink sea salt.Ten minutes into the game I threw in a 1/2 pack of soyrizo, cooked it for five minutes then a 1/2 bag of cheddar Daiya. I cooked everything till it became all gooey and melty. I thew in a handful of broken tortilla chips, plated it with more chips on the side, salsa and fresh organic avocados. We have a winner here! Comfort food that is simple, rather cheap (Daiya was buy one get one free last week at Sprouts) and you can use up leftovers! You can even swap out the soyrizo for black or pinto beans - making it even more affordable!

A Day In SF

My boyfriend and I went to San Francisco last Saturday to see Best Coast and Wavves in concert. We went up early in the day to eat and do a bit of shopping.


I had to go to Chamalyn for bubble tea! Last time we went it was closed and I really love the girl behind the counter and the selections of kawaii stuff and vegan bubble tea! I got a strawberry bubble tea, some litche candy and some cute toys! This is one of my favorite San Francisco stores!


We then headed over to Gracias Madre for lunch. We both held off on this place for a long time because we are Mexican food snobs. There were some major hits and some dishes I was not so happy with. The best part were the gorditas! So yummy and dream worthy. I also should state - I had sangria, I got a bit tipsy and my boyfriend discovered the best beer ever!

While in the Mission we went to Good Vibrations and encountered a guy who made a purchase from my boyfriend's Etsy store the day before. I noticed his Lego brooch, not my boyfriend's design, we all started talking and he recognized my boyfriend's name! What a cool event right? We also headed over to Needles and Pens where I picked up some food zines for inspiration.

We then headed back to BART and made our way to West Field mall to do some shopping there and around Union Square. My two favorite shops in West Field this time around was Melvita where I bought some new products I will review soon and Lupicia - for tea time (I bought Strawberry Vanilla tea - so yummy).


We were not really hungry after our huge lunch so we got combo plates from Loving Hut for dinner before the concert. After the concert we took a taxi back to BART and made our way home! Fun day and night!

[Day 2] Mexican Food & Matt's Mama's Rice Recipe

I love Mexican food - going out to eat at Mexican places is rather hard. Everything from beans to guacamole can be off limits due to animal ingredients. Here is a list of things to look out for if you happen to go out and eat at a Mexican restaurant!

chips: these can be fried in lard.
beans:can contain lard or pork bits.
tortillas can contain lard or l-cysteine.
rice: this can be cooked with chicken broth.
gucamole: can often be stretched by using sour cream.
"vegetarian" options: there is a local chain that has a veg section - problem is everything has lard in it, I guess because they feel there is not actual meat in it that it is vegetarian by default.

My boyfriend's mom has a dinner time staple - rice. Sometimes it is called red rice or Spanish rice...we just call it rice. Don't mind the cell phone picture - it is tasty!



1 cup of white rice
1 tablespoon of olive oil (canola oil can work too)
1 and a 1/2 cups of tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
lemons (optional)

Place rice in a pan (with a lid) and add oil, fry rice for a few minutes on medium heat, till the rice gives off a scent and is slightly browned. Turn heat to low and add liquid, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes - till all the liquid is absorbed.
You can cut up lemons and add a squeeze of lemon juice to the rice like my boyfriend likes to do! Enjoy!